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Incessant Ectopic Atrial Tachycardia and Sudden Death
Author(s) -
SOSA EDUARDO,
MARCIAL MIGUEL BARBERO,
SCANAVACCA MAURICIO,
BELLOTTI GIOVANNI,
PILEGGI FULVIO
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
pacing and clinical electrophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.686
H-Index - 101
eISSN - 1540-8159
pISSN - 0147-8389
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-8159.1991.tb04103.x
Subject(s) - medicine , proarrhythmia , cardiology , flecainide , ventricular tachycardia , amiodarone , sotalol , sudden death , premature atrial contraction , asymptomatic , atrial fibrillation , cardiomyopathy , heart failure
A patient with refractory and incessant ectopic atrial tachycardia (IEAT) is reported in whom it was possible to document, during EGG (Holter) the occurrence of aborted sudden death by spontaneous ventricular fibrillation (VF). Following the second of two attempts at surgical ablation of the origin of the IEAT, the patient has been asymptomatic without antiarrhythmic drugs and in sustained sinus rhythm for 24 months. Although we cannot exclude the residual action of amiodarone and flecainide (proarrhythmia) or the residual peripartum cardiomyopathy it is probable that the observed VF was a true complication of a cardiomyopathy induced by a chronically increased heart rate (HR). Although unclear, this VF might be considered as a form of adrenergic‐dependent long QT syndrome due to early afterdepolarization in the presence of predisposing myocardial conditions.